Now, new research is changing scientists'
understanding of the timing of those eruptions, and prompting them to
call for greater monitoring of sites to help save lives when the next
big volcano explodes.

Two recent papers
highlight the shift. One looked at a Death Valley volcano thought to be
10,000 years old and found it last erupted just 800 years ago, and is
still an eruption danger. The other found that large caldera volcanoes,
such as the one under Crater Lake in Oregon, can recharge in a matter
of decades, rather than the thousands of years previously thought.

"The
understanding of the timing of eruptions and the timing of the building
up to eruptions is changing," says Margaret Mangan, the scientist in
charge of volcano monitoring in California for the U.S. Geological Survey. "These two papers are very nice examples of good scientific work."

This is really good to know. Now, all of us who live in these areas have a big choice to make - to move, or not to move. I haven't looked for any statistics on how many Americans have died in volcanoes, or even how many people ever have died in volcanoes around the world. But I'm willing to bet that volcano areas are way safer for American than FDA approved medical facilities.